“Nobody tells beginners this…”

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

— Ira Glass

Mystery

“Some mystery should be left in the revelation of character in a play, just as a great deal of mystery is always left in the revelation of character in life, even in one’s own character to himself.”
— Tennessee Williams

Creating Luck

“Being deeply learned and skilled, being well-trained and using well spoken words; This is good luck.” - Buddha

“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” - Thomas Jefferson

I find it fascinating how actors approach luck.  Our luck determines our future.  It’s the holy grail of art.  To actors, luck is so sacred, that actors don’t say its name in vain: we tell each other to “break legs”, we don’t wish “good luck”.

As an actor, I often hear my peers suggest that getting good opportunities requires luck, and I would agree.  But I don’t think it’s something you inherit, like a blood type or a hair color.

We are responsible for creating our own luck.

The best luck comes from taking responsibility of our opportunities and empowering ourselves.  Don’t like your luck?  Seize it and change it.  Create opportunities.  Change your surroundings.  Continue to learn.  Be excited and positive.  Commit fully to any project you do.

I want to be lucky.  I’m striving to do more than the minimum, to make myself a powerhouse of luck.

I will make my own luck.

Being At ISU

I just finished my first semester at Illinois State University. Honestly, the transfer to a school six hours from home, where I didn’t know the area or anyone around it, scared me senseless.  But after all the stress and worry over applications, auditions, getting accepted into a program and fitting in once I was there, it now seems silly that I would have ever considered another school besides ISU.

From the first week of classes, I felt like I was warmly greeted into the program with open arms.  The students were so friendly and accepting.  My professors were so enthusiastic about their students and thoroughly educated in their subjects.  Even the poor academic advisor never once seemed less than happy to see me at his office door, armed with piles of my previous class syllabi that he had to individually check to see which of my courses would transfer to ISU.

And I never had a problem keeping busy – ISU offers so many opportunities to keep actors involved.  Students audition for the shows in the school’s season, but there are also a handful of active and enjoyable student groups that offer opportunities to get involved.  Theatre of Ted offers an open-mic atmosphere for students every Saturday at midnight.  FreeStage hosts a number of student-directed, designed and acted shows.  Improv Mafia performs every Tuesday night.  Occasionally, the school even brings in working alumni to speak or host master classes.

It’s been a great semester.  I’ve enjoyed myself immensely already; I’m very much looking forward to whatever comes next semester.

Come Alive

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

- Howard Thurman